bmw_e30

Hello. I own a dd 740 and also a 95 m3 track car.

I'm thinking of adding a 06-07 cayman s to my fleet. It would be a track car/weekend car only.

Can I do most of the maintenece in my backyard? Oil changes/trans and diff fluid/ spark plugs/ fuel filters etc?

I would prob get a base cayman s with as little options as possible since I will need to install my needed track gear on it like suspension/brake pads/harness/tires/etc.

Are they reliable and are parts are cheap? Im seeing 06-07's for 40k with low miles. I'm looking to buy in the next 12-16 months.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...890390882.html

mooty

yes, easy



reliable yes
cheap parts; NO. nothing from porsche is cheap. i also had E36m3 race car. compared to that, cayman is at least 2x more for parts if not 3x.

Jim Michaels

Bimmerhead: mooty's da man with relevant experience. If you want to go Cayman anyway, also listen to him about what you'll need to do to make the car more track worthy. If you just putt around (kinda like I do), you won't need much (wheels, tires, brake pads/fluid, etc.); but if you're serious about getting around quick, you'll need to address some of the Cayman's inherent shortcomings (e.g., power steering pump cooling, and sufficient oil delivery under high cornering forces). There are enough Caymans racing now (e.g., the Interseries Caymans and the Grand-Am Caymans) that all inherent shortcomings have likely been discovered and addressed.

The M3 (I also own an E36 M3) needs some attention for serious tracking too, but parts are cheaper and the engine compartment is more easily accessible. You'll need to go at the Cayman's engine from three different directions: top (access with rear hatch open wide), front (access from behind the seats), and bottom (access on a lift).

I've tracked the M3 a few times as well, but my '06 Cayman S is much more enjoyable; and it's quicker. Three advantages stand out for me; the Cayman's a bit smaller, lighter, and more powerful; the steering is fantastic; and the mid-engine makes for a fine handling feel.

bmw_e30

I looked up the issues. Thanks for the help.

Looks like the mk1 cayman's need quite a bit of work. I'm not too impressed. The car is a hell of a drive though.

Things change in a year though and it looks like the mk2's fixed alot of the issues and added some nice stuff to boot. So maybe an 09+ is in the cards.

Krokodil

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Yes, the 09+ cars fixed many (not all) of the issues, but a 06-08 can be made reliable (mostly) for less than the 09+ premium. I probably have more race miles on my 07 than almost anyone (save Mantis and maybe CG) and, working with Vision, seem to have solved most of the problems.

That said, from the tone of your notes (e.g., "not too impressed") you would probably not be happy to have a Cayman in your "fleet". Really, they take some work to make right, but are quite impressive when built properly.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Cheers,

Tomasz@StartupRacing

I would not get a Gen 1 car if tracking is your hobby. The number of blown engines seems proportionally much higher than in 997s for example. Look at LN Engineering, they made a living from Porsche crappy designs.

If you can install their engine upgrades by yourself and enjoy that, OK maybe a 2007 MY car makes sense. Otherwise I would recommend you wait/save for a 2009. They look much more promising, though time will only tell.

Tomasz

mooty

dont get me wrong.
Gen 1 cay s is good, despite some issues. i was an early adopter so i had to sort out many things myself. krokodil is also an early adoptor, unlike me, he is more persistent and developed his car which is a monster ! and reliable. porsche factory doesn't support cayman racing, so in that sense you are on your own sorting out issues.

gen 2 also has prob. look at how interseries cayman addressed those. E36m3 has a bunch of prob. water pump, rear sub frame etc. just know that ANY porsche will cost more to run than a comparable bmw.

engine blowing up on cayman does occur but it's not that often. and until you are very fast and using very sticky rubber, there is no oiling issue. it may puff huge amount of smoke at start up as well as hard left handers, but that's not a problem. just drive it. now if you race on ovals, yes, you will have some oiling problems.

bmw_e30

Yeah I'm over it. StrekStrekStrekStrek Porsche for now. Maybe when they get their overpriced **** straight....

My E36 M3 is plenty quick and is faster than 90% of all Porsche's I track with here in CA and costs me penuts to own and operate. I've ran with the POC more than a few times.

I was thinking Cayman S or Exige 260. I really miss M/R based cars, plus i love the way they feel. But I will hold off for another year and see what Porsche has on the table for 2011 models since a major redesign is in the works. Am all new Elise/Exige is also on the horizon. C6 Z06's are nice too, but not mid engined......

mooty

had elise and exige.
in stock form, they are better for track than cay s.
they are more reliable and much cheaper to run.

jumper5836

But if you stuff it in the wall, your lucky if you can walk away. The Porsche in this aspect is much more safe.

mooty

the alum structure in the lotus is VERY strong.
one of my friend did stuff it in the conc wall.

that said, the repair of body damage (the car) is much higher for the lotus than that of the porsche.

which car i like more?
i have several porsches now, but no lotus.

TrackDays247.com

Get the S. Front brakes can withstand much more abuse than the non S. And you will dig the HP.

cgomez

I second that. Had 3 Lotus, now none. Now, I have P-car racecar and P-Car street car and planning on adding more....

I found the Porsches a lot more reliable. Things do brake on the Cayman, but I treat it with no consideration as it is a racecar. On my P-cars that I drive on the street and do track days, nothing has broken; I just do the proper preventive maintenance (i.e. change stuff when its worn out)

The engine in the Cayman is very reliable, and the puffing ceases to exist even with very sticky rubber if you run the oil at the right level and use the Air separator, plus the better oil pan for safety.

The weak link in the Cayman is the transmission, even with a cooler, temps run very high in race conditions (shouldn't be a problem in DEs if you run 1-2 easy laps every 10-15mins).